


Last to Know, First to See

by strangelypaula



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangelypaula/pseuds/strangelypaula
Summary: Madisen Lahey, her cousin was the one and only Isaac Lahey. With Derek as her boyfriend and Isaac as her cousin, she knows about their secret. She's been there through the beginning, even before Derek had come back to Beacon Hills. Taken place during Season 3 where the alpha pack "kills" Derek. How will Madisen handle Derek's death after everything they've been through? DerekHaleXOC
Relationships: Derek Hale/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Last to Know, First to See

**Author's Note:**

> Triggar Warning : Self Harm.  
> It is described in detail in one paragraph, easy to pass over in reading, however it will come up again when others find out what she has done. Another small section in detail comes up towards the end. If you wish to skip over the sections regarding the details, it is the paragraph that begins with "kneeling down.." and the section in the end where a small box is mentioned and finishes when "is this?" comes up.

"Isaac.. Where are we going?" I say, struggling to keep up behind him.

"You didn't have to come with me, you know. Derek would have let you stay." He replies, looking over his shoulder at me.

A roar of thunder erupts in the background and makes me jump about ten feet off the ground.

"Isaac, you're my cousin. I go wherever you go."

Isaac simply nods, but I can tell he appreciates it. He then leads us to our destination - Scott's house.

We walk up to the front of the house, completely soaked in our clothes, and knock on the door. Scott's mother, Melissa, greets us with a worried expression on her face.

"Can we talk to Scott?" I pull my bag closer to me, shivering slightly.

"Yes." She says looking between Isaac and I. "Yes, c'mon in."

Isaac walks in first and Melissa points to the direction of Scott's room. He nods and heads on up. She turns her attention to me and smiles. "You staying over?"

"I believe so.. That is, if that's alright with you." I finish quickly.

She releases a small chuckle and says, "Of course dear. Mind telling Scott that I'm taking the night shift?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Thanks."

She gives me a big hug and points to her room down the hall. "Help yourself to some of my stuff. Don't want you getting sick now." She says and shuts the door behind her.

I start shifting uncomfortably on my feet as I feel a pair of eyes staring at me.

"Go ahead and change Madi. I'll show you to the guest room when you're done."

"Thanks Scott." I say heading towards his mother's room.

After grabbing a pair of grey joggers, a blue long sleeve, and a pair of underwear, I climb in to take a quick shower. I then slip myself into the warm, comfortable clothing. As I head over to Scott's room I pull my curly hair up into a bun.

"Madi, you ready?" Scott asks as I get to his doorway.

"Umm, yeah. Can we - can we talk, Scott?"

A flicker of confusion crosses his face, but it's immediately replaced with amusement. "Of course."

I walk across the room and sit on his bed, placing my bag on the side. "It's about Derek.." I say softly, refusing to meet his gaze. "I know Derek is a strong alpha, and a great leader, but.. Do you think he's doing the right thing? Taking out the alpha of alphas? It's a dangerous task and if there's one slight mix up, then people will get hurt. I don't want you, or Boyd, or Cora, or Derek, or especially Isaac getting hurt.."

I didn't even notice Scott was near me until he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Madi, don't worry about it. Derek's not going to let anything happen to us. We'll be okay."

"You sure?"

"We're werewolves." He reminds me, flashing his canines. "What's the worst that can happen?"

I give him a weak smile and lay myself on his bed. Looking up at the ceiling I suddenly realize how extremely tired I am. I catch sight of the clock as soon as it hits midnight.

"Do me a favor?" I say. "Wake me up before you head out.."

I slowly drift off in a deep slumber.

_ It's completely dark. I can't even see three feet ahead of me. When I'm able to regain my vision I take a look around. I'm in a giant abandoned mall. Doing what? I honestly don't know.. The walls have cracks on them, the pillars look like they're going to collapse at any second, and there's a huge hole in the ground that leads to the non-working escalators. _

_ A chill suddenly runs down my spine and the area around me becomes eerie. It's dead silent too. That's when I realize someone's watching me. I can feel their gaze boring into my back. I turn around and see an older, middle aged, man standing on the immobile escalators. He has a cane in his hands and looks quite calm. His light brown hair is swept over his eyes and his shades keep them covered. He's blind. _

_ I hear footsteps coming up behind me and I turn to see Scott with Isaac. Scott's mouth is moving, but I can't hear a single word he's saying. He's apparently talking with the blind man and from the corner of my eye I see Derek stepping forward with the rest of the pack; all wolfed out. _

_ Turning back around I catch sight of a woman sliding down one of the pillars, a slightly bald bulky guy walking up from the broken escalators, and twins jumping to merge themselves into one giant guy. They're also all wolfed out; they're all alphas.. _

_ Isaac decides to take on the twins and Scott soon joins him. Derek goes up against the female and the only other alpha that seems to be fighting is the bald one. He's Boyd and Cora's fight now. _

_ I'm frozen in place with fear as I see my friends and loved ones being thrown around. I've had just about enough when I see Isaac on the floor, covered with blood and sweat. _

_ "Stop!" I yell with as much force as I can manage. _

_ Nobody stops. Nobody listens. They merely carry on with whatever they were doing. I realize then that I'm here, but then again, I'm not. It's like I'm only here to watch them get beat to death. _

_ I take another look around only to see Scott and Isaac on their knees being held down by the morphed twins. Boyd is being held down in front of Derek by the bald alpha and Cora is on her back with the female alpha's foot crushing her neck. I can hear faint mumbling and Derek is looking frantically between his sister and his beta. _

_ The next few events happen so quickly. A bright flash blinds everyone's eyes, not affecting me in any way, and I can see the alpha of alphas barking out warnings to his pack. Arrows are sent flying across causing more flash bombs to erupt. When everything's cleared up I notice that the twins and the female alpha are down, no longer in battle. Boyd and Cora are gone, probably heading back to safety. Isaac's on the ground and Scott has now taken on the large alpha. A loud crash is heard as the two collide with one another, causing them both to stumble back. Scott's eyes turn to the dark, red shade of an alpha's but soon go back to their true beta yellow. _

_ They continue their fight and only when Scott gets scratched on his side, does Derek decide to step in. Scott tumbles to the ground and watches as Derek and the other alpha wrestle each other, awfully close to the edge of the hole. _

"Scott, what is she doing here?"

_ The only thing Scott can do now is to slowly crawl himself towards the two battling alphas. _

"I didn't do anything, I swear! She's only napping!"

_ Scott lends Derek a hand by scratching their opponent's calf, causing him to completely lose his balance. _

_ "No.." It doesn't take me long to realize that the alpha's still clinging onto Derek's shoulders. _

_ "Derek.. Please, no.." _

"Madi?"

_ The tears are then streaming down my face because I already know what's going to happen. Scott tries his best to quickly crawl to Derek's aid, but he's too late. Derek loses his footing and tumbles down with the other alpha - down who knows how many flights. _

_ "Derek!" I manage to choke out through my heavy sobbing. That's when I'm finally able to awaken from the hell hole of a nightmare. _

"Madisen!"

I bolt upright into a sitting position and am blinded from my tears. I wipe away the few I can manage and see both the betas looking worriedly at me.

"Madi? Everything alright?" Scott asked taking a seat at the edge of his bed.

"I can't.. I - It was.. Nightmare.. I just - It was.." I took a deep breath to calm myself down and tried it again. "I had a dream th-that Derek.. Died."

My voice cracked at the end and the younger beta pulled me into one of his soothing hugs. I cried into his shoulder as he reassuringly told me that it was only a dream. That it wasn't going to happen.

I slightly pull away to look him in the eyes. They were sympathetic but calm, and I knew he meant what he said.

"I sometimes forget that you're the older one." He tried joking softly.

I wipe away the remaining tears and a small smile creeps itself onto my face.

"Isaac.. I think we should start heading out now."

He nods and gets up along with Scott.

"Wait." I stand and grab my cousin's wrist. He turns and slowly raises an eyebrow at me.

"Promise me you'll come back. Safe and sound." I look over to Scott and then back to my only living cousin. "Both of you. All of you."

"We promise." Isaac says.

Scott nods agreeing with him.

I place my hands on either side of his face and kiss his forehead gently. "Be safe you guys." I say finally and watch them go.

It's been two hours since the boys left; two hours since I've been trying to get some sleep, only to be haunted by that same dream. Over and over again. Two hours of silently crying to myself.

"I can't take this anymore.." I climb out of the bed and head over to my bag. I rummage through it and head over to the bathroom; object in hand.

It's been so long since I've been able to do this. When you've got a werewolf cousin, friend, and boyfriend around you almost 24/7 you have to be extremely careful.

Kneeling down, I place my arm over the tub and raise my left sleeve. I set the small metallic blade on my wrist and guided it across my skin, quietly hissing as the pain traveled up my whole arm. I do this repeatedly in the same area until I can almost see bone. I work my way along my arm and stop when I get to my elbow. I look down and admire my distorted arm, the scars each spilling out blood. I wait fifteen seconds before deciding to stop the bleeding.

I wash my arm off and clean the tub and blade. I leave the bathroom and head back to the guest room, grabbing my phone in the process. I dial Stiles and notice it's almost three in the morning.

He picks up after the third ring.

"Stiles? Hey. I know it's late and everything, but I really need to do something to take my mind off of things. So you.. Wanna hang out?"

"You too, huh?" I can just imagine him running his hand through his hair.

"So is that a yes?"

"Definitely. I'll be right over."

"Stiles?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm at Scott's."

There was a slight pause before he replied. "Okay. Be there in a few."

As I wait for Stiles to arrive, I grab a couple of pillows and a bed sheet and head over to the living room. I set the things down and place a couple movies on the small side table for Stiles to choose from; it was his turn.

I go into the kitchen to place a bag of popcorn in the microwave and I hear the door shut as soon as I pressed 'start'. I walk back out to greet him.

We give each other a welcoming hug and when we pull apart I take notice of what he's wearing, black boxers and a simple white tee.

"Really Stiles?  _ That's _ what you're wearing?"

"Oh, what? You can walk around here without a bra on, but it's a crime for me to walk around in my boxers?"

"Stiles!" I say and immediately cover my chest.

"So what are we watching?" It's just like Stiles to change the subject.

"It's your pick."

I return to the kitchen and grab the popcorn, chips, and our drinks. When I get back I notice Stiles has chosen my favorite movie: Balto.

Smiling I place our drinks on the side table, along with the movie case, and plop myself next to him. There is nothing romantic between us. Heavens no. I've just gotten really attached to Stiles since he's the only other human around that knows about the pack.

We're halfway through the movie, enjoying ourselves, and enjoying each other's company when Stiles suddenly decides to pause the film. I stop reaching for the chips at the bottom of the bag and look over at him.

"Why'd you pause the movie?"

Stiles doesn't respond and simply takes the bag of chips from my grasp. "Stiles?" I ask again, a bit more concerned. His quiet behavior is really starting to scare the shit outta me.

He takes my left hand in both of his and whispers, "You're bleeding.."

My eyes widened in realization as I remember how I had rolled the sleeves up, not wanting to get crumbs on Ms. McCall's shirt.

"Shit." I mumble and I try to pull my arm back.

Stiles keeps his tight hold on me and only sits there, staring at my now reopened cuts.

"Let's clean you up."

He climbs off the couch and heads to the kitchen, with me stumbling behind. He sets me on a chair and gets a wet cloth to clean my cuts. He's focused solemnly on the task at hand and refuses to look at me.

"Stiles, talk to me.." I practically beg him.

"Does Isaac know?" He asks softly.

"No.."

"Oh gosh, Madi. Does Derek know?"

This time he looks me dead in the eye, waiting to see my reaction.

"He doesn't know either."

He's about to ask something else, but then we hear Isaac's and Scott's bickering.

"I should tell her. It's my fault.."

"No, I'm her cousin. I'll do it." A pause. "And stop blaming yourself! You were only helping!"

I quickly jump off the chair and pull my sleeves down, ignoring the painful sensation as the fabric grazed my wounds. Stiles places the bloody cloth behind his back, out of sight from the wolves.

The betas stop arguing as they take notice of their two friends in front of them, curiosity crossing their faces.

"Tell me what?"

The two wolves exchange quick glances and turn their attention back to me.

"Look Madi.. I don't know how to say this but-"

"It's about Derek." Scott chirps in.

"Derek?" I ask and I could hear my heart beat starting to quicken.

"Yes." My cousin chokes out. "Madi, Der-"

"What happened to Derek? Why'd you stop? Don't stop, Isaac! Keep talking!"

"Do you smell that?" He asks rhetorically.

Oh god. Not now.. Please don't tell me he smells it.

"It's blood.." Scott says and looks over at his best friend quizzically.

"Derek." I say firmly. "What happened to Derek?"

Isaac ignores me and takes my hand in his, rolling up the sleeve. I refuse to meet his gaze and I refuse to talk about this right now. This can wait. I need to know what happened to Derek.

"Isaac Lahey. You tell me this instant what happened to Derek!"

"Why the hell did you do this?" He snapped. "Madi, I thought you said you stopped!"

I flinch at his sudden raise of voice and I decide to look at him. I can feel him shaking with rage.

When I don't respond automatically he addresses Scott. "We can't tell her now. Not when she's like this."

Scott slowly nods in understanding.

"Isaac! Tell me! This, right now, can wait. I need to know what happened to Derek!"

When he doesn't budge I feel myself boiling up with rage.

"Scott?" I turn to see him shake his head, suddenly refusing to be the one to tell me anything.

I turn to face Stiles. "Convince them that Derek can't wait."

The quiet human finally steps out of the shadows and says a simple 'no'. I'm taken completely by surprise. "What?"

"I'm sorry, but look at yourself Madisen! You've lost a shit load of blood! Whatever it is with Derek, it can wait. He's not the one spilling blood here! Derek can wait."

Before I can say anything to that, my cousin drags me to the nearest bathroom and cleans me up. I can hear the faint rummaging around of the two best friends cleaning up in the other room.

I turn to look at Isaac just as he's finishing wrapping the bandages on my arm.

"Isaac..?"

"Go to bed."

I nod and begin heading to the guest room.

"You're not going to the cross country meet."

Cross country meant everything to me. I've been involved in it since middle school. He can't take that away from me. I stop walking and I'm about to protest, but I decide against it. He's already mad, and I wouldn't want to push him over the edge.

I situate myself in the bed and face the slightly open window. The light breeze that flew into the room lulled me to sleep, but it also brought back the dream to haunt me.

I walked down the hallway and entered my room. It used to be my uncle's, but ever since he died I had moved into his room. I also became Isaac's legal guardian. It's the least I could've done for the young teen.

I had remodeled the room a bit. Had painted the walls a light blue, added more furniture, and I even put up all the photos I had taken with my camera.

I was always into photography and I was pretty good at it. Each wall had a depicted 'theme' in a way of what the pictures on it would mainly be on. Along one wall were pictures of myself and the cross country girls; along another wall were pictures of my cousin and I; another was completely filled with the whole pack; the last wall, closest to my bed, was covered in pictures of the alpha and me.

All of the pictures were taken with my instant developing camera; my most prized possession.

I place my bag along the bedside table and pick out some new clothes to change into after I showered. Closing the bathroom door behind me, I turn to take a look at myself in the mirror.

"I look terrible.."

I quickly strip from my clothing and hop into the shower. I peel the bandages off as well and I'm not surprised to see that they haven't started to heal at all; they're still the same from last night.

I turn the knob to the hot water on and let it cascade down my back.

The heat will take the pain away. It'll help pull me back into the world. It'll put me back in my place. I'll start thinking straight again.

"I can't.." I say as I begin scrubbing the heel of my foot.

_ "Derek's dead." Isaac says, placing a hand on my shoulder to try to soothe me. _

_ "What do you mean 'dead'? Derek's not dead. He can't be.." I said trailing off, trying to pull away from my cousin's grasp. _

_ "He had gotten pretty beat up. Was fighting against a bigger, stronger alpha. He lost his footing and he-" _

_ "Fell down a couple floors straight onto the broken escalators." I whispered, barely audible for my werewolf cousin to hear. _

_ "Ho-How did you know that?" _

_ "Because I saw it.." I choked out. _

_ The images from the nightmare suddenly came rushing back to my mind. Derek being thrown around like a rag doll. Him falling to his death.. _

_ I explain my whole dream to Isaac. In every possible detail that I could manage. Halfway through the explanation I begin choking back sobs, unable to continue. _

_ Isaac's able to get me to finish telling him about the dream, but as soon as I do I break down. "I watched Derek die.. And I couldn't do anything about it!" _

_ I can't control my sobs anymore and it feels like I've got a lump caught in my throat. I clutch my chest as it gets harder to breathe. It feels like everything around me is falling apart; like everything is caving in on me. I'm starting to panic, but I automatically think back to Derek. My boyfriend. My rock; my protector; my anchor; my best friend. My world; my life.  _ **_My everything._ **

_ The heavy sobs come back and I'm positive the neighbors can hear my wails, but I don't care. I'm pulling at my hair then, scratching my face, digging my nails into my palms. Anything to put me out of this living nightmare. _

_ Isaac's trying his best to calm me down; to bring me back into the world, but it's like he doesn't even exist. _

_ I'm completely broken and I don't know if I can ever return to my cousin. _

_ I bite my hand to stop myself from screaming. It's not until I taste my blood that I realize I've bit down too hard. _

_ I'm trembling. _

_ I'm absolutely terrified. Not having Derek in my life will be completely different. No more waking up to his warm body pressed up against mine. No more having his strong arms around me. Mo more hugs. No more useless arguments. _

_ I won't see him again. I won't be able to see his eyebrows furrow when he's confused or mad. I won't be able to see his gorgeous green eyes. No more alpha. No more growls, no more seeing him wolfed out. No more little nips at my neck. _

_ No. More. Derek. _

_ "Madisen." I turn at the mention of my name and am slowly brought back to the world. Back to my cousin. _

_ "Everything will be okay." He says, pulling my hand away from my mouth. _

_ "No it won't." I whisper. "He's gone." _

_ The young beta sighs and pulls me into a hug. He holds me tight and gently rubs my back. I continue to sob onto his shoulder when I realize something. I pull away sharply and look my cousin in the eyes. _

_ "Isaac.. I never told him I loved him." _

_ "Never? But you two have been together for almost two years.." _

_ "Yes, never. We both always knew, but we just never got around to saying it." _

_ "Oh my gosh, Madisen. I'm so sorry.." _

I rinse myself off and step out of the shower. I dry my body, along with my hair, and slipped into my clothes; a white tank and blue pajama shorts.

I walked out of the bathroom and took a glance at my arm to see a couple of scars had started to bleed. I grab my instant developing camera and snap a picture of the scars. Taking the picture, I wave it around to air it out, and watch as it slowly develops. When it's done developing I place it in the box along with the others and cast it away in my closet.

"Time to reapply the bandages."

I begin cleaning the scars with alcohol swabs and place small pads over each of them, just like Isaac had taught me. Once they're all in place I wrap the bandages along my arm, securing everything in place.

"I don't think I can live without you, Derek." I whisper, tears forming at the bridge of my eyes.

She was done showering. I could smell her fresh and clean from where I was standing outside the front door; it was a mixture of her regular cinnamon woodsy with the coconut bathing gel she would always use.

I turn the door knob, knowing that the girl forgets to lock it sometimes, and enter the house. I put all the locks on the door and make my way to her room, wincing as each foot hit the ground.

I finally manage to get to her room and I see how she's sitting on the edge of her bed, feeling lost and defenseless. She's wrapping bandages around her outstretched arm, most of her back facing me.

"I don't think I can live without you, Derek." I hear her whisper.

I prop myself up against the door frame and watch her silently. The boys must have told her about my death. I couldn't have her actually thinking that. I had to come over and prove to her that I'm still alive. When I've had just about enough of the silence I decide to speak up, "What happened to your arm?"

Her head snapped around in my direction so fast I was worried it might pop clean off.

My chest tightens in pain when I take the sight of Madisen in. Her curly brown locks are probably the only thing that looks just about in order. Her usual glamorous emerald eyes are puffy and wet with tears. The heavy bags under her eyes are almost impossible to not notice. Her full perfect lips are chapped and dry. She has small scratch marks scattered around her beautifully tanned face. Her hand was badly bruised and it appeared she had bitten herself; I'd know those bite marks anywhere. She looked like a total mess, but I can't help thinking she still looks utterly beautiful.

"Derek? Is that really you?" She gets up from the bed and heads towards me.

"It's really me, Madi."

She smiles from ear to ear as she lets the news sink in, but it quickly vanishes. A frown replaces my favorite smile on her and she suddenly takes my state of condition in.

She rushes to my side and leads me to her bed, laying me down.

"Let's fix you up."

I grunt in agreement and watch as she rips my shirt off, not wanting to bother me with pulling it off. I bite my bottom lip, preventing the groan of satisfaction from escaping my mouth, hoping that she didn't catch how aroused I was by that. Now's not the time for that; maybe later, but not now.

"Derek..?"

I turn back to face her and wait for her to continue. She's silent as she resumes cleaning my cuts and scrapes.

"Why haven't you healed yet?" I look at her intent eyes and then reply honestly, "I don't know."

She nods and continues her work. Seeing her here, taking in her presence, warms me up. This warm feeling I always get when I'm around her reminds me of all the times we've shared; good and bad.

The first time we met..

_ Laura had told me to leave the apartment for a bit. To get some fresh air into my lungs. She even suggested that I take a walk in the park, so that's what I did. _

_ With my hands in my pockets and my head hung low I began walking along the streets of New York. I knew I had gotten to the park when I heard the birds chirping and children screaming with joy, running everywhere. _

_ I walk along the dirt path when a new scent crosses my nose. It was a soft cinnamon smell mixed with a bit of woods. There was also a hint of coconut added to the mixture which made it all the more intriguing. Whoever this was had a natural scent of cinnamon, liked being around in the woods, and would only use coconut shower gel. _

_ I didn't know I was following the scent until I came across a teenage girl, on her phone, sitting on a high tree branch. _

_ "I'll be coming over to live with you. I can't stand being alone anymore. I just gotta get everything settled over here first, you know?" _

_ What am I doing? I shouldn't be listening in on her conversations. Then again, I can't help myself, now can I? Not really my fault there. _

_ "Alright kiddo. I'll see you a week before the school year starts. Take care." _

_ I take a couple steps forward as I hear the soft  _ **_click,_ ** _ indicating that she was ending the call. She finally takes notice of me and her heart skips a couple of beats. She's startled by my presence and I can't blame her. _

_ She places her hand on the tree bark in trying to steady herself, but her hand slipped and she tumbles out of the tree. I take a long stride over and catch the helpless girl in my arms. Not a second later her phone shatters onto the ground and a frown appears on her face. _

_ I set her down on her own two feet and give her a small smile. "Are trees not your thing anymore?" _

_ A smile spreads across her face, showing her precious dimples, and I notice a small blush cross her cheeks. _

_ She extends her hand out towards me. "Thanks. I'm Madisen Lahey." _

_ I take a cautious look at her hand, but take it in mine anyways. Her hand is soft against mine and brings me comfort like nothing else had ever before. _

_ "I'm Derek Hale." _

The day I finally had the balls to tell her how I felt. Which also just so happened to be her nineteenth birthday.

_ I took her to the park where we first met. Took her to the exact tree where we had our first encounter. _

_ I had set a small picnic in place to surprise her. Everything had been planned at least a week before. We would have our picnic until the sun set. I would give her her present, and I would build up the courage to ask her out. _

_ The only thing I would pick up from her would be how fast her heart would race whenever she was near me. That was enough for me to accept. I just hoped that when the time came, she would accept my gladly. That she would accept my wolf. _

_ I lead her to the blanket near the tree and take my seat next to her. She was surprised by my actions but didn't push it. _

_ We talked a lot about myself as we had our lunch. She would ask me questions about the family, about my childhood, and almost anything else she could possibly think of. _

_ I was still a little on edge about telling her about my past. It would always be a touchy subject for me. _

_ Her warm and kind smile brought it all out of me though. I couldn't hide it from her any longer. Not when she would give me such sad looks. I had spilled about my family's past not too long ago. Spending the first half of my summer with her was doing me some good. Or at least, that's what Laura said. Every minute I spent with her was like I would drop my guard. Little by little and that somehow, didn't bother me. Not when it was with her. _

_ When the sun was just about ready to set she situated herself closer to me and I smiled when her scent lingered around my nose. I placed my hand on hers and heard her heartbeat skip. I couldn't help but smirk. _

_ This could work. _

_ "I got you something." _

_ She intertwined her fingers with mine and kept her eyes glued to our hands. "You didn't have to Derek." She whispered. _

_ My free hand reaches into my jacket and pulls out a narrow black box. I place it on her lap and then lift my hand to her chin, tilting her head towards me to see her reaction. _

_ "Happy Birthday." _

_ Her face becomes a beet red and she quickly averts her eyes. "Derek." She whined. _

_ "Open it." I take my hands away and watch her as she slowly opens the box. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she pulled the necklace out onto her hand. She was handling it with so much care you would have thought she was holding a knife. _

_ The charm was simply attached onto a silver chain. _

_ From the look of her eyes I could tell she liked it and that brought me comfort. _

_ "It's your tattoo." She said matter-of-factly. _

_ I chuckled softly at her obvious statement. "Thank you so much Derek. I love it." _

_ She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. I placed my arms around her lower back, returning her hug. We stayed like that for a while, neither one of us wanting to pull apart. It was now or never.. _

_ "I really like you, Madisen." I muffled into her hair, not wanting her to quite hear me. I knew she heard when her muscles slightly tensed. When they relaxed she pulled away so that we were face to face. _

_ "I really like you, Derek." _

_ My instincts were telling me to kiss her right then and there, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not when I had yet to ask her out. I was just about to ask when I suddenly realized my lips were already on hers. _

_ She pulled me closer to her as she began kissing back. "Best birthday ever." She whispered against my lips. _

The day she told me she had to move to Beacon Hills.

_ Laura had been looking things over. She's been trying to figure some things out and that's why she had moved back to Beacon Hills. She had said that she would be back as soon as she could. _

_ Laura had been killed and I decided to go back to Beacon Hills and settle things over there. The only problem was telling Madisen. _

_ We had gone out for coffee that morning and I decided to tell her the news there. Her very quiet behavior told me that she also had something in need of telling me. _

_ She took a long sip of her latte and blurted it out. "I'm moving to Beacon Hills tomorrow." _

_ My head snapped in her direction. I thought I heard wrong, but that obviously doesn't happen. "What?" _

_ She set her cup down and began to twiddle her thumbs, a habit she'd always tend to do whenever she was extremely nervous. _

_ "I'm moving to Beacon Hills. Tomorrow." She repeated. _

_ This was a great turn of events. I could leave and still have her with me. That's all I ever wanted nowadays: to never lose her. Ever since we met, I've had a strong connection towards her that I couldn't quite explain. I had brushed it off the first couple of weeks, but halfway through our summer I realized I really enjoyed being around her. _

_ I haven't had this much comfort with someone since before the fire. With her I could slowly start to open up, knowing that she wouldn't be one to judge. _

_ She was alone. She had literally no one left after her mother had passed away when she was seventeen. She had lost her in a car accident. She was able to make it out with a broken leg. Her dad had been a firefighter. One day, when she was merely five, her dad went to work and never came back. The only family she had left was her uncle and cousin, and they lived across the country. _

_ She needed me just as much as I needed her. _

_ "Derek?" She asked softly, snapping me out of my thoughts. _

_ "I'm going with you." I said firmly. _

The whole situation with Isaac's turning.

_ The young beta had come into the abandoned train cart, looking for me. "Derek? Derek!" _

_ I turn around and see the frightened teen. "What's wrong?" _

_ "My dad! I think he's dead." _

_ I walk out from the shadows and take a closer look at him. "What did you do?" _

_ "N-Nothing. It wasn't me." _

_ The teen ran his hand through his curly hair in nerves, but quickly dismissed it. _

_ "Shit, Madisen!" _

_ At the mention of her name my ears automatically perk up. I've known the two were cousins since I first met Isaac in the graveyard. Her scent was all over him and I was quick to assume it had been for another reason. I had taken a closer look at the boy and slowly began picking out the similarities. Their scents were almost identical; I just put two and two together. _

_ The beta had yet to figure out _ **_I_ ** _ was the Derek his cousin talked so much about. That  _ **_I_ ** _ was the Derek his cousin was dating. I couldn't blame him, I had only turned the boy just the other day. Everything was new to him. _

_ "I gotta go back." He pivots on his heel and starts walking out. _

_ "I'll take you there." _

_ He was about to ask me why I even offered when I shot him a look to not push it. Before entering the camaro I tossed him my phone. _

_ "Tell her you're on your way." _

_ He nods and punches the numbers in as I pull out onto the street. _

_ "Why do you have my cousin's phone number saved on here?" _

_ Without looking over at him I smirk. "She's my girlfriend." _

_ Madisen picked up at the moment, "Hello?" I glanced at Isaac when he didn't automatically respond. "Derek?" _

_ "No, it's me. I'm on my way home." _

_ "Oh, that's great." She said, "But.. Why do you have Derek's phone?" _

_ "Why does he have your number?" He snapped, anger already radiating off his body. "Why didn't you tell me you were dating him?" _

_ "Isaac, I did!" _

_ "Do you even know him? Do you, Madi? Do you know exactly who he is? Exactly  _ **_what_ ** _ he is? He's-" _

_ I snatched my phone out of the teen's hand, my eyes flaring red with power; reminding him of his place when he tried taking it back. I placed it near my ear and spoke into it. "We'll be there in a few." _

_ After hanging up I stashed it away in my pocket. _

_ "Does she know?" He said quietly, trying to regain his senses. _

_ I gripped the steering wheel and shook my head. _

_ The next day went completely downhill the moment Isaac got taken into twenty-four hour custody. Tonight's a full moon. _

_ After taking Scott to see the 'motives' of Isaac, he had taken off. I met up with Stiles a bit later so we could bust my beta out of jail. _

_ Earlier today I had gone to the Lahey residence to check up on Madisen, only to find that she wasn't home. I figured she would be right back so I waited. When she hadn't returned after half an hour I called her; I got her voicemail. _

_ I growled in frustration and drove off. _

_ Stiles and I finally pulled up to the station. He parked his jeep and turned to face me. His phone began to vibrate and he pulled it out to check it. A slight frown appeared across his face as he began replying to the message he had gotten. _

_ "Stiles, stop or I'll throw your phone out the window!" I snarled. Now was not the time to be texting whoever the hell it was. _

_ "Well excuse me for thinking Isaac's cousin should know where he is!" _

_ "You're texting Madisen?" I said through gritted teeth. _

_ "I know right? She's hot." _

_ A roar erupted from my chest causing Stiles to shrink back in his seat. He glanced back at his phone and arched an eyebrow in confusion. "She sent this over an hour ago." _

_ "Of course." I muttered bringing my hand up to smack my forehead. _

_ I can smell her scent. She's been here. She most likely came to pick up Isaac. I immediately tensed at the thought of her being alone with her cousin on a full moon. _

_ "You know how to get to Isaac's place?" The teen nods and puts his phone away. "Get there. Now." _

_ Stiles pulls out of the driveway and speeds over to the Lahey's. We get there in the nick of time and before Stiles even parks the jeep I'm out and heading towards the house. _

_ I noticed the door was left ajar. I hear someone, probably Madisen, stumble over something and fall on the floor. When I heard a heartbeat spike I busted through the door to find the two. _

_ Isaac's beta side was in complete control at the moment. Madisen was on her back, looking helplessly up at her cousin. I looked between the two cousins, noticing that the beta-my beta-was approaching his cousin hungrily. _

_ I stood in front of the two, facing Isaac, and gave him a warning roar, red eyes flashing, teeth baring. _

_ The beta shrunk back in fear and returned to normal. I turn to see Madisen rush to her cousin's side. She pulls him close, arms around his neck. He slowly wraps his arms around her waist and squeezes her gently. _

_ "I'm so sorry, Madi." _

_ She shakes her head and runs her hand through his hair soothingly. _

_ I place a hand on her shoulder and she turns slightly to look at me. I caught sight of her bottom lip and from the looks of it, it hadn't been too long ago that she got it. Her lip was cut and at the corner of her mouth a bruise as formed, big and purple. _

_ "We need to talk." She nods and looks back at her cousin. She kisses the top of his head and helps him up. She lets go of him but he's still holding onto her tightly. _

_ She chuckles lightly and pries his hands off. Her motherly eyes look into his lost ones and she gives his arm a small squeeze. "I won't be far kiddo; I'll just be in the other room. If you need me, come and get me." _

_ "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you like that yesterday. If I hadn't left, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. My dad wouldn't have hit you." _

_ "Isaac." She whispered. "Isaac, it's not your fault." _

_ "I wanna protect you." "You can always protect me." "No." He says, "Not like this." _

_ She reaches out to comfort him but he takes a step back. Her eyes are filled with hurt and that's when I decided she's had enough. _

_ "Madisen, wait for me outside." She leaves the room and I walk straight up to Isaac, staring him down. "You want to protect her?" I ask him sharply. "Then you need to learn how to control this! You can't be like this on every full moon. Find yourself an anchor; find something that gives you the strength to stay human and not lose control." _

_ I breathe in heavily as I remember it's only his first time getting a hang of all this. "It's not your fault." I admit turning around. "It's mine." _

_ I walk out of the room and look for Madisen. When I find her, she's talking to Stiles as he's wiping her bruised lip with a cloth. _

_ "Should I leave to give you guys some privacy?" _

_ I was about to nod, but Madisen turns to me with a pleading look. "C-can he stay?" _

_ I furrow my brows at her. "Derek, he's human! A human human. I could use some support from him." _

_ I shake my head in disbelief but let Stiles stay. I take my seat next to her and wait for her first question. _

_ "How many more are there?" _

_ "Well there's Scott." Stiles says getting up to put the cloth away. _

_ "Scott. Scott's a werewolf?" _

_ Stiles and I look at each other as the mention of 'werewolf'. _

_ "I read a lot about the supernatural." _

_ "Why?" I asked. _

_ "I've always been interested in it." _

_ "Well right now there's only three of us." _

_ "Right now..?" _

_ "Derek here is building up his pack." I shoot Stiles a glare and he puts his hands up in surrender. _

_ "Derek, you're the alpha? Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" _

_ I sighed and interlocked our hands. "I didn't want you to leave me.." _

_ She pulls my hand up to her lips and kisses it. I could feel Stiles' stare at us as he watches our interactions closely. "Are you two dating?" _

Our worst argument yet.

_ I had been training the betas for a while. I've been teaching them how to protect themselves, how to survive. _

_ I was about done training them for today when Erica decided to pounce on me. By pure instinct I grab her legs as she steadies herself on me. Her lips were on mine and I was disgusted by the thought that she even went through with pulling something like this. It was when she stuck her tongue in my mouth that I nearly gagged. _

_ Madisen's scent hit my nose at the moment and I threw Erica off. She landed hard on her back and I wiped my mouth to get the taste out. From the corner of my eye I see Madisen run off. _

_ "That's the last time you do that!" _

_ "Why?" Isaac starts getting up and heading after Madisen, but I stop him. "Because I'm a beta?" _

_ "Because I have someone else in mind for you." I say coldly and walk out to find Madisen. _

_ I catch up to her and I look at her closely. Her shoulders are tense and I notice she has her hands clenched tightly by her sides. I place my hand gently on her shoulder to pull her into a hug, but she turns around and pushes me off. I try again but she smacks my hand away. _

_ "What the hell was that?" _

_ "Madisen, you don't underst-" _

_ "I don't understand?" She scoffed, hands on her hips. "She was kissing you! And you didn't do anything to stop her!" _

_ "Madisen-" "Dammit Derek! She had her sick tongue down your throat! And you know what's worse? You were _ **_kissing_ ** _ her back." _

_ Tears fell freely down her face and she didn't bother wiping them away. My chest aches seeing her in so much pain, seeing her feeling betrayed. I was the one who caused all this. _

_ "You bastard. How could you do this to me? To us? After all we've been through?" _

_ "Madisen, please. Hear me out." I take a step forward and she doesn't move back so I use that as an advantage to take her into my arms. Her hands are on my chest, clutching my tank tightly and she's shaking her head. She doesn't want to talk about it anymore. _

_ "I hate you so much, Derek." She says, punching my chest lightly. _

_ I hear her heart spike and I couldn't help but release the breath I didn't even know I was holding in. She was lying. _

_ I pull her closer to me and kiss the top of her head. "No you don't." _

"Derek?" The warmth of her hand on my shoulder brought me back.

I sit upright on the bed, ignoring my injuries, and pull Madisen into my lap. I brush my fingers against the small scratch marks on each of her cheeks and then glance down at her arm. She tries to move it out of my sight but I stop her. I graze my fingertips across the bandages and look up at her when she winces. "You never told me what happened.."

She lowers her head and starts to twiddle her thumbs. "I-It was me."

I quickly placed my hand back on her cheek, guiding her to look up at me. There were tears beginning to form at the brink of her eyes. "What?"

"I-I thought you were gone.." She said, burying her face in my chest. "Derek, I saw you die."

A silence fell in the room and I was arguing with myself whether I should question her about her cuts or not.

"How bad are they..?"

She automatically tenses, but crawls out of my lap and heads towards her closet. She comes back out with a box in her hands. She returns to her spot in my lap and takes the lid off the box.

Inside I see tons of photos of past scars. All of the pictures showed small cuts, stuff that would easily heal in about a day or two, always about five. She holds out a picture to me, one I didn't even notice she took out, and I take it in my hands.

This picture was much more different from the others. The scars were longer and deeper; they were jagged and there were far too many to count.

"Is this..?"

She nods and covers her face with her hands, shoulders moving slightly. I place the picture back in its box and put it on the bedside table. I slowly take her hands away from her face and brush her tears away. I bring her bandaged arm up to my lips and kiss each spot where the scars must've been.

I pull her in close and we both bury our noses in each other's necks, breathing in each other's scents. I gently stroke her curls and nip at her neck. "Please stop, Madisen. I love you."

"I love you too, Derek. So much..."


End file.
